The End of Boromir
by Priestess of Dan
Summary: Whatever did happen to Boromir's body after it went over the falls? Two Elves in Valinor are certainly having an interesting day. Formerly posted in the Lord of the Rings section. Updated 12.02.07. Oneshot


Version Four

_I really have no idea when this story takes place. I had originally intended for it to place in modern day (or so I think, rereading the story), but then I realized that Boromir's body would not take two to four ages to reach Valinor since it only took Fingolfin and company a year to walk there and since it took his boat three nights to Nen Hithoel to Osgiliath. Unless Boromir's body had to go through Customs, he would only need a week or, maybe, three to get to Valinor. (I also had a reference to Elrond tarrying in Middle Earth that didn't make the cut.)  
_

_Unfortunately, Lúthrian and Alphiel have relations who are ahead of their time. These relations know of such creations as "go-carts" and "extreme sports." This gives the reader two options: Either the story does take place in modern day, or Lúthrian and Alphiel were tricked by their relatives and are secretly prodigies and will later tell Ælfwine confusing stories of adventures more wonderful than all the tales of the Elder Days combined that will be passed down, generation by generation, till they reach Art Ingels and Barnaby Conrad._

_Now I really want to write a story where Ælfwine encounters Lúthrian and Alphiel._

_This time conundrum is also why "Cousin Lothíriel" has become "Aunt Aureth." Lothíriel is still in Middle Earth at the end of the Third Age, according to my personal canon, so her mother replaced her. Yes, I know that they're both characters of my own making, so it doesn't matter; but it matters to me, despite my best attempts to ignore it, and it's been grating on my nerves for a while._

_(P.S. I don't own _The Silmarillion_.)_

"The End of Boromir"

Lúthrian daughter of Eluréd, Lady of Edenroth [1], had long enjoyed the intimacy of friendship with Alphiel daughter of Gil-galad. They usually dwelled with the other in her home city, inventing new and disastrous techniques to nearly kill themselves in the name of Creativity and Science. These methods had only gotten more and more dangerous since the arrival of the Elves who had tarried in Middle-earth till well into the Third Age. Lúthrian was particularly proud of the "go-cart" an aunt or a cousin of a sort had told her about while Alphiel preferred "Extreme Boat Racing." The Elves often had peculiar smirks on their faces when telling them of these innovations, which the girls ignored for fear that a question would cause them to be declared ignorant by even the other.

They often came up with their original ideas on the beaches outside Minas Giliath [2]. Alphiel was a proud member of the Falathrim, in spite of her grandsire being of the Golodhrim, and could think of nothing better than the beaches, boats, and architecture of her people. Lúthrian smiled indulgently at her during these tirades, very much like how Alphiel smiled at her during her praise of the woods and caves of Thingol's Valinorean kingdom. They were, as a rule, indulgent of the foibles of the other. There weren't many other ridiculous and irreverent girls in Valinor.

Had they been less particular, they might have asked Aureth, Alphiel's aunt and her father's steward, for all intents and purposes, for aid, but she was older than they felt comfortable with; and Gil-galad had left his sister in control of Minas Giliath while he and his lady went to visit his father in Tirion, and Aureth was not in the mood to tolerate Alphiel's silliness when she was the mistress of a city-state and of the people therein.

'Alphiel,' said Lúthrian as she stared out into the distance. 'What is that? It looks like some sort of ship coming towards us. No, 'tis a small boat!'

'It is nothing like the boats of the Falathrim,' said Alphiel. She was a proud member of that race as previously stated.

Lúthrian stood. 'It is coming towards us. Alphiel! With the currents being what they are, it shall hit the rocks. There must be something we can do. There might be a passenger or something of importance aboard the vessel. Can we do nothing?'

'I shall fetch Aunt Aureth. You remain here and watch it,' Alphiel said reasonably. It did not occur to her that she was using the tone and gesticulations of her lord father when he was at his most severe; not that Lord Gil-galad was often severe.

Lúthrian _did_ notice and frowned. She, however, disregarded it until another, more appropriate time. They both decided that it was their best option, and Alphiel ran towards Minas Giliath as if Mandos was behind her and inquiring after her health. Lúthrian took out a piece of wood. She was going to whittle a toy oliphaunt for her fetal cousin or die in the attempt, to paraphrase one of those phrases Celebrían had picked up from Mannish traders. The ship came closer to the shore and grew larger with each passing minute. Eventually Alphiel returned with Aureth, who looked mussed. She had obviously been enjoying an afternoon nap.

'Well met, Lúthrian,' said Lúthrian's distant cousin of some sort or another. She looked at the boat for a moment before doing some calculations. 'The current will _definitely_ send her south. I don't _think_ she will run into any rocks, but you would be better off asking a mariner their opinion. I'm just a lowly steward.'

They did not fetch a sailor, which was well because Aureth was correct in spite of her doubts. The ship landed on the sand without any hassle, as if Ulu [3] himself had a hand in it. The three women crowded about it and looked down into it. Then they looked up at each other in confusion.

'It's a Man,' said Aureth.

Aureth had been born in Middle Earth during the Exile and had known many Men when she lived there. Alphiel and Lúthrian had only seen Idril's husband Tuor, who was fair-haired and handsome in his way. _This_ Man was dark-haired and very much dead. Aureth checked twice before owning that it was the body of a late Man of Bëorian descent; Aureth could only guess as to whether he was of Númenórean or of Middle Mannish descent, having died in the Fall of Gondolin and never having met a Man of Westernesse.

'Well,' said Lúthrian. 'What do we do with him?'

It was always odd when the most impractical person indicated the most practical problem. What were they to do with a dead body? The Belain [4] would know, but it was not exactly a problem one would present to Manweg [5] and Elbereth on their thrones. Aureth made a thoughtful hum from deep in her throat.

'We bury him, don't we?' asked Alphiel.

Thus, Boromir son of Denethor II came to be buried outside of Minas Giliath, the Citadel of the Stars in the Undying Lands. The Falathrim did not care for the Man buried so near to them. If they needed to speak of him, they simply called him Firadan, which is 'dead Man' in their tongue. In time Lúthrian and Alphiel found this exploit uninteresting and began to plan a surprise birthday party for the Lady Elbereth, despite her not having a birthday. That particular disaster is another story.

_Authorial Notes_

1. Edenrodhin, "New Caves" in Doriathrin Sindarin, is Thingol's new kingdom in Valinor. Don't ask me why he's still living in caves.  
2. Minas Giliath, or "Tower of the Stars," is Gil-galad's seaside city-state, which is south of Alqualondë and probably in what was once Avathar. I assume Avathar got a new name when Ungoliant left.  
3. Ulu is Sindarin for Ulmo  
4. Belain is Sindarin for Valar  
5. Manweg is Manwe.


End file.
